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Cannabis Update – New Statistics

Cannabis Use in Canada

The Canadian Cannabis Survey 2019 was released in December to look at cannabis use in Canada. It is a great review of current use. They divided the survey into 4 themes, with some key points for each. Here is a quick summary.

Theme 1 -Knowledge, attitudes and behaviours

This theme looked at what people knew and thought about cannabis.

Alcohol as was the most socially acceptable substance (55% of respondents). Smoked cannabis was next (44%) followed by edibles (43%), vaping cannabis (42%), e-cigarettes containing nicotine (41%), and tobacco (35%)

People are worried about cannabis stigma – Only 21% said they were willing to disclose cannabis use and 23% said that they would not be willing to say if they use cannabis

Smoking is greater risk than alcohol or cannabis – The majority of people felt that occasional use of alcohol or cannabis had no risk or slight risk, whereas smoking tobacco or using an e-cigarette with nicotine once in a while was seen as having moderate or great risk by the majority of people

Cannabis misuse risk – 90% of people thought that using cannabis could be habit forming

Theme 2: Cannabis Use and Products Used

Recreational cannabis use is growing – Twenty-five percent (25%) of people reported having used cannabis in the past 12 months, an increase from 22% in the previous cycle

Greatest use in younger adults –Past 12-month use of cannabis among people aged 16 to 19 years and those aged 20 to 24 was 44% and 51%, respectively, compared to 21% for people aged 25 years and older, all increases from 2018 (36%, 44%, and 19%, respectively)

Lower education = higher cannabis use – Those who reported having less than high school or a high school diploma as their highest level of education had the highest proportion reporting cannabis use in the past 12 months (31% each), almost twice that of those with a post-graduate degree/diploma (17%)

The average age of starting cannabis – 19.2 years

Frequency of use – Over half of these respondents reported using cannabis three days per month or less (55%), and 18% reported daily cannabis use

Smoking is still the most common method of administration – Smoking (84%) was the most common method of cannabis consumption reported. Other methods of consumption were: eating it in food (46%), an increase from 42% in 2018; vaporizing using a vape pen or e-cigarette (27%), and vaporizing using a vaporizer (15%)

Dried flower is still the most common format used – The six most common products used were dried flower/leaf (77%); edible food products (44%); vape pens/cartridges (26%); hashish/kief (23%); cannabis oil for oral use (23%); and concentrates/extracts (17%)

People are increasingly purchasing cannabis for legal retailers – The top sources to obtain cannabis were from a legal storefront (24%), from a friend (22%), from a legal online source (13%), shared among friends (10%), from an illegal storefront (7%), grown by or for them (6%), and from a dealer (6%)

Most people don’t get professional advise surrounding cannabis – Only 3% reported ever having received professional help for non-medical cannabis use

Theme 3: Driving and Cannabis

Some risky driving behaviour – 26% reported that they had ever driven within two hours of smoking or vaporizing cannabis, and of those who had driven after smoking or vaporizing cannabis, 43% did so within the past 30 days, 31% within the past 12 months, and 25% more than 12 months ago

Most believe that cannabis affects driving – More than eight in ten (85%) people reported that they think that cannabis use affects driving; this is an increase from 81% in 2018

Theme 4: Cannabis for Medical Purpose

Increasing medical use – Fourteen percent (14%) of all respondents aged 16 years and older indicated that they used cannabis for medical purposes, an increase from 13% in 2018

Most people don’t get professional help for medical cannabis use – The majority (73%) who reported cannabis use for medical purposes did not have a document from a healthcare professional

Cannabis reduces other medications – The majority of people (61%) who used cannabis for medical purposes reported that cannabis use helped decrease their use of other medications

Daily use is commonly required – The most common frequency reported was daily (35%), followed by less than one day per month (15%), two or three days per month (15%), one or two days per week (11%), three or four days per week (11%), five or six days per week (7%), and one day per month (6%)

Medical cannabis oil use is increasing – The three main products used were dried flower/leaf (60%, a decrease from 71% in 2018), cannabis oil for oral use (46%, not comparable to previous cycle) and edibles (28%, a decrease from 34% in 2018)

Higher CBD use is more common with medical users – Forty-one percent (41%) indicated higher CBD and lower THC, 18% selected higher THC and lower CBD, 14% indicated equal levels of THC and CBD, 14% indicated they used a mix of different products, and 4% selected other

1.5 grams of dried flower or 1.5 mL of cannabis oil per day – The average amount used on a typical use day was 1.5 grams whereas those who used edible cannabis products consumed approximately 1.1 servings; cartridges/vape pens, 0.1 cartridges; hashish, 0.4 grams; and beverages, 400 millilitres, all unchanged from 2018. Among those who used cannabis oil for oral use, the average amount used was 1.5 millilitres

Many medical users not obtaining it from LP – In 2019, the top five sources to obtain cannabis for medical purposes were from a legal storefront (27%), a Health Canada licensed producer (23%, unchanged from 2018), a friend (21%, a decrease from 30% in 2018), a legal website other than a Health Canada licensed producer (20%), and an illegal storefront (12%)

Spending an average of $100 per month – People who used cannabis for medical purposes in the past 12 months and who completed the medical section of the survey spent approximately $108 on cannabis for medical purposes in a typical month

Medical Cannabis Use in Canada

Active client registrations are continuing to increase – There was 369,614 medical client registrations with federally licensed sellers at the end of September 2019. This is an increase from 345,520 in October 2018

Average cannabis authorization is consistent – The average amount of cannabis authorized for daily use was 2.0 grams/day

How Does this Translate to Practice?

Lots of great data from Health Canada on Cannabis use

The number of registered medical users is continuing to increase even with easy recreational cannabis access

Most medical users are not obtaining cannabis by obtaining an authorization from a healthcare professional

Many people don’t ask or get any support by a healthcare professional for cannabis use. This is an issue as many are worried about the stigma of cannabis use

Healthcare professionals should regularly screen patients for cannabis use and offer support and education